Integrations
How a system gets connected: map, connect, test, go live
The five stages every connection goes through, what happens at each, and what your team is asked to do.
On this page
Every connection between the agent and one of your systems goes through the same five stages: map, connect, test, go live and monitor. Telonic does the work at each stage. Your team makes the decisions: which records the agent may read, which actions it may take, and when a connection is ready for customers. The result is a connection built for how your system is actually set up, tested on your own data before any customer reaches it.
1. Map: how your system is actually set up
Two organisations running the same CRM (the system that holds your customer records) have different objects, fields and processes. So every connection starts by mapping yours: which records exist, what each field means, which values are valid, and which steps your team follows. For a developer, that might be how units, payment milestones and handover appointments are recorded. For an insurer, how a claim moves from first notice to settlement.
The map sets out, in plain terms, what the agent will read, what it will write, which actions it will take, and which rules apply to each. Your process owners and your IT team review it with us, and agree the permissions for the integration account (the account created only for this connection). Nothing is connected until you sign it off. See Permissions.
2. Connect: in your test environment first
Telonic builds the connection against a test environment: a copy of your system, or a sandbox (a separate area of the system for trying changes safely), that holds realistic data but no live customer activity. Your IT team creates the test integration account and allows traffic from your deployment through your firewall. Telonic configures the connection in your deployment.
Where a system has no test environment, we agree with your IT team how to test safely, for example with read-only access to the live system and actions limited to test records. See What we need from your IT team.
3. Test: with your data and your processes
Before any customer reaches the agent, the connection is tested with conversations drawn from your processes. The tests cover the ordinary cases, the exceptions your team knows about, and what the agent should decline. Each test checks that the right record was read, the right value was shown, and the right change was written, and nothing else.
The tests also cover failure: what happens when your system is slow, returns an error, or holds a record the agent does not expect. Your team reviews the results and signs off that the connection is ready. The same tests run again before every later change. See Testing before every release.
4. Go live: one channel, one department
Going live means switching the connection from your test environment to your live system, with the live integration account and the permissions you agreed. Deployments start with one channel in one department, such as out-of-hours reservation changes on WhatsApp, so your team sees the connection working on real conversations before it is extended.
Extending to another channel or department then uses the connection that is already in place. Only new records, actions or systems go back through mapping and testing.
5. Monitor: after go-live
Telonic monitors every connection for errors, failed calls and slow responses, and is alerted to repeated failures. Every call the agent makes is logged in the audit trail, so your team can see what was read and changed at any time. See Audit trail and decision records.
Your systems change: a new field, a new rate type, an upgrade. Tell us about upcoming changes on your side and we update the connection through documented change control, tested again before it goes live. Telonic notifies you before any significant change on our side. See How changes go live.
How long it takes
The timeline depends mainly on the systems being connected; you receive a plan with dates before you commit. The plan lists each system, the stage it will be at on each date, and what is needed from your team for each one.
Who does what
| Stage | Telonic | Your team |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Map | Runs the mapping sessions and writes up the map | Process owners explain how the work is done. IT confirms records, fields and permissions. Both sign off |
| 2. Connect | Builds and configures the connection | IT creates the test integration account and allows network access |
| 3. Test | Writes and runs the tests, fixes what fails, reports the results | Process owners review results and sign off readiness |
| 4. Go live | Switches to the live connection and watches the first conversations closely | IT creates the live integration account. Operations chooses the first channel and department |
| 5. Monitor | Monitors, maintains and updates the connection | Tells Telonic about changes to your systems |
In practice
Nakhla Travel, a tour operator, connects its booking system so the agent can answer itinerary questions and make changes.
- Map. Over two sessions, the operations team walks Telonic through how a multi-stop itinerary is held: one booking, several suppliers, each with its own change rules. They agree the agent can read itineraries and change hotel dates where the supplier's rules allow it, and nothing else.
- Connect. The IT team creates an integration account in the booking system's test environment and allow-lists (permits through its firewall) the fixed IP addresses Telonic provides.
- Test. Telonic runs test conversations built from real itineraries, including a change the supplier's rules do not allow. The agent declines it correctly and offers a person. The operations manager, Layla, signs off.
- Go live. The agent starts on WhatsApp for customers whose trips start this month.
- Monitor. Two months later, the operator adds a new supplier with different change rules. Telonic updates the map, tests the new rules, and the change goes live after Layla's approval.
What your team controls
- What goes into the map, and the permissions that follow from it.
- Whether a connection is ready for customers.
- Which channel and department go live first, and when to extend.
- Approval of any change to a connection before it goes live.
Related
- What we need from your IT teamIntegrations
- PermissionsIntegrations
- How a deployment worksGetting started
- ImplementationCommercial
- Testing before every releaseGovernance and control
Product names and logos are trademarks of their owners. Their mention shows systems Telonic connects to and does not imply partnership or endorsement.